Free-roller sluice.



PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906.

F. w. s. STOKES. FREE ROLLER SLUIOE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.13,1906.

4 BHEBTS-SHEET 1.

No. 838,664. PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906.

E. W. S. STOKES.

FREE ROLLER ICE.

A'PPLI v PATBNTED DEC. 18, 1906. P. w. s. STOKES. PREE'ROLLER SLUIGE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.13, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 F. W. s. STOKES.

PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906..

FREE ROLLER SLUIGE.

APPLICATION FILED APB-13,1906- 4 sums-sum}.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREE-ROLLER SLUICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 18, 1906.

Application filed April 13, 1906. Serial No- 311,523.

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK WILFRID SCOTT STOKES, civil engineer, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 32 Victoria street, Westminster, London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Free-Roller Sluices, of which the following is a specification.

Hitherto the rollers of free-roller sluices have been hung in such a way that the lower rollers are left behind by the sluice-gate as it is raised and are thus subjected to the rush of water past them. This is often objectionable, more particularly in the case of sluices having considerable height of lift and where floating debris is carried down. This drawback has heretofore been overcome by arranging the rollers in a confined guide or way, which travels with the gate. In such form of arrange ment, however, the rollers were disposed loosely in the guides and were urged or pushed along by the actual peripheral contact of the rollers behind them, a considerable loss of power resulting from the friction thus set up between the rollers.

According to my present invention each roller is linked to its neighbor and is pulled into position from the front instead of being pushed from the rear. Another advantage of this mode of disposing the rollers is that they need not touch each other, and that consequently the number of rollers can be considerably reduced.

A further advantage of my construction is that the axes of the rollers are controlled by the links in such manner that each roller is always held so as to roll truly in the required direction instead of grinding, as is the case where a roller runs in a groove.

In order that my said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, it will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a sluice-gate embodying the features of my invention, one of the sets of rollers being removed for the sake of clearness. Fig. 2 is a section taken approximately on the line 2 2 of Fig. l and showing the recess in which the rollers work. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged front elevation, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation, of some of the rollers. Fig. 6 is a front elevation, partly 'fied form of my invention.

broken away, of a sluice-gate, showing a modi- Fig. 7 is an end elevation of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is an end view showing a further modified form of construction and Fig. 9 is a similarviewto Fig. 8, but showing the parts in a difierent position.

The same letters of reference where they occur are used to denote the same or corresponding parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, A indicates the sluicegate; A the chains by which the gateisraised and-lowered; B B, the rollers; O O, the recesses therefor, and D the masonry.

Referring to the example illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, the rollers B are connected. together by the side links I) b b b and made into the form of continuous loops or endless roller-chains which are passed over and around the lateral wings a a on the sluicegate A and lie in contact with vertical front or rear tracks 0 c in the recesses O, which latter are in the masonry D. These tracks 0 c and the front and rear faces of the wings a a constitute the roller-paths.

Where there is pressure only on the side of V the gate, only one track 0 would be necessary; but by the provision of roller-tracks c c on both sides of the recess C, as shown in Fig. 2, the gate will be caused to work equally well against a head of water on either side of the sluice, only a slight clearance being necessary between the rollers and the tracks 0, so as to insure that the rollers shall make contact with only one track at one and the same time, thus providing for their circulation around the wings a in one direction or the other, according to whether the gate is raised or lowered.

The links I) b are in the form of flat metal plates or bars, alternate links 5 (or any other convenient number) being formed with humps or projections 12 which overlap the edges of the rollers and engage in depressions 0 in the recesses C or in the wings a a, or in both, to prevent the rollers being displaced from their tracks a.

In the modified form of construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the train of rollers is discontinuous and the end rollers are connected together by, preferably, two ropes or chains or other flexible connections b which pass over the back of the gate and over pulleys or sheaves a a mounted on the gate at the upper end thereof. I

In the form of construction exemplified in Figs. 8 and 9 in place of employing endless trains of rollers r trains having their ends connected together by ropes or chains, as above described, each of the trains or systems of rollers has its lower end connected to a suitable block or projection a on and near to the bottom of the gate. In this construction the lower part of each train is in the form already describedi. e., having the rollers connected together by links b. In the upper parts of the trains, however, the rollers are connected together by rigid bars or cradles I).

It will be seen that as the gate is lifted the lower portion of the train of rollers will be in a loose loop, as shown in. Fig. 9.

In cases where the modifications shown in Figs. 6 and 7 or 8 and 9 are employed, there being no circulation of the rollers around an endless path or track, as in the form shown in Figs. 1 to 5, it is necessary that the discontinuous series of rollers should be raised or lowered as the sluice-gate moves, and this is effected in the usual manner by suspending the roller-frame in the bight of'a chain a passing over a pulley a on the roller-frame, one end of said chain being "fixed at a to the masonry, the other end being fixed to the gate at (1.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

plurality of trains of rollers, one at each end of the gate, separate links flexibly connecting together the rollers of each train, and means for securing each train to the gate at two points.

4. The combination of a gate, a sprocketchain carried thereby, rollers journaled in the links of said chain, and guides for said rollers.

5. The combination of a gate, a guide therefor, a double chain composed of pairs of links between said gate and said guide, and a roller interposed between the complemental links of each pair.

6. The combination. of a sluicegate, individual links composing a plurality of chains and capable of falling out of alinement with each other, rollers journaled in said links, guides for said rollers, means for-connecting said chains with the gate at their upper ends, and means for connecting said chains with the gate at their lower ends.

7. In a tree-roller sluice, the combination with the gate, of rollers linked together in flexible trains or series passing round the bottom of the gate, a track, and means for preventing lateral displacement of the rollers from the track.

8. The combination with a sluice-gate, of trains of rollers attached to the gate near the bottom thereof and adapted to permit said trains to hang freely in loops when the'gate is raised.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in presence of two subscribing witnesses, this th day of March, 1906.

FREDERICK WIIJPRIU SCOTT STOKES.

Witnesses:

H. D. JAMEsoN, A. NUTTING. 

